title: Ecometrics: the traits that bind the past and present together.
abstract: We outline here an approach for understanding the biology of climate change, one that integrates data at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Taxon-free trait analysis, or "ecometrics," is based on the idea that the distribution in a community of ecomorphological traits such as tooth structure, limb proportions, body mass, leaf shape, incubation temperature, claw shape, any aspect of anatomy or physiology can be measured across some subset of the organisms in a community. Regardless of temporal or spatial scale, traits are the means by which organisms interact with their environment, biotic and abiotic. Ecometrics measures these interactions by focusing on traits which are easily measurable, whose structure is closely related to their function, and whose function interacts directly with local environment. Ecometric trait distributions are thus a comparatively universal metric for exploring systems dynamics at all scales. The main challenge now is to move beyond investigating how future climate change will affect the distribution of organisms and how it will impact ecosystem services and to shift the perspective to ask how biotic systems interact with changing climate in general, and how climate change affects the interactions within and between the components of the whole biotic-physical system. We believe that it is possible to provide believable, quantitative answers to these questions. Because of this we have initiated an IUBS program iCCB (integrative Climate Change Biology).
authors.affiliation: Department of Geosciences and Geography, Helsinki University, FinlandDepartment of Geological Sciences, Indiana University, USAARONIA Research Institute at Åbo Akademi University and Novia, University of Applied Sciences, Coastal Zone Research Team, Ekenäs, FinlandDepartment of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USASwiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, SwitzerlandSenckenberg Natural History Museum and Research Institute, Frankfurt, GermanyCentre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Jussi T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Eronen
authors.affiliation: Department of Geosciences and Geography, Helsinki University, FinlandDepartment of Geological Sciences, Indiana University, USAARONIA Research Institute at Åbo Akademi University and Novia, University of Applied Sciences, Coastal Zone Research Team, Ekenäs, FinlandDepartment of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USASwiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, SwitzerlandSenckenberg Natural History Museum and Research Institute, Frankfurt, GermanyCentre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: P David
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Polly
authors.affiliation: Department of Geosciences and Geography, Helsinki University, FinlandDepartment of Geological Sciences, Indiana University, USAARONIA Research Institute at Åbo Akademi University and Novia, University of Applied Sciences, Coastal Zone Research Team, Ekenäs, FinlandDepartment of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USASwiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, SwitzerlandSenckenberg Natural History Museum and Research Institute, Frankfurt, GermanyCentre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fred
authors.affiliation: Department of Geosciences and Geography, Helsinki University, FinlandDepartment of Geological Sciences, Indiana University, USAARONIA Research Institute at Åbo Akademi University and Novia, University of Applied Sciences, Coastal Zone Research Team, Ekenäs, FinlandDepartment of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USASwiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, SwitzerlandSenckenberg Natural History Museum and Research Institute, Frankfurt, GermanyCentre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Damuth
authors.affiliation: Department of Geosciences and Geography, Helsinki University, FinlandDepartment of Geological Sciences, Indiana University, USAARONIA Research Institute at Åbo Akademi University and Novia, University of Applied Sciences, Coastal Zone Research Team, Ekenäs, FinlandDepartment of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USASwiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, SwitzerlandSenckenberg Natural History Museum and Research Institute, Frankfurt, GermanyCentre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Frank
authors.affiliation: Department of Geosciences and Geography, Helsinki University, FinlandDepartment of Geological Sciences, Indiana University, USAARONIA Research Institute at Åbo Akademi University and Novia, University of Applied Sciences, Coastal Zone Research Team, Ekenäs, FinlandDepartment of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USASwiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, SwitzerlandSenckenberg Natural History Museum and Research Institute, Frankfurt, GermanyCentre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mosbrugger
authors.affiliation: Department of Geosciences and Geography, Helsinki University, FinlandDepartment of Geological Sciences, Indiana University, USAARONIA Research Institute at Åbo Akademi University and Novia, University of Applied Sciences, Coastal Zone Research Team, Ekenäs, FinlandDepartment of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USASwiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, SwitzerlandSenckenberg Natural History Museum and Research Institute, Frankfurt, GermanyCentre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Scheidegger
authors.affiliation: Department of Geosciences and Geography, Helsinki University, FinlandDepartment of Geological Sciences, Indiana University, USAARONIA Research Institute at Åbo Akademi University and Novia, University of Applied Sciences, Coastal Zone Research Team, Ekenäs, FinlandDepartment of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USASwiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, SwitzerlandSenckenberg Natural History Museum and Research Institute, Frankfurt, GermanyCentre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Nils Chr
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Stenseth
authors.affiliation: Department of Geosciences and Geography, Helsinki University, FinlandDepartment of Geological Sciences, Indiana University, USAARONIA Research Institute at Åbo Akademi University and Novia, University of Applied Sciences, Coastal Zone Research Team, Ekenäs, FinlandDepartment of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USASwiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, SwitzerlandSenckenberg Natural History Museum and Research Institute, Frankfurt, GermanyCentre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fortelius
mesh_terms: D000220:Adaptation, Biological / Q000502:physiology*; D001695:Biology / Q000379:methods*; D058448:Biota; D057231:Climate Change; D004777:Environment; D008954:Models, Biological; D012107:Research Design